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From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
--Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
IN POLAND, ON THE NIGHT OF 11 SEPTEMBER 1939, WEHRMACHT scout and commando units-elements of Kuechler's Third Army Corps-moved silently around the defenses of Novy Dvor, crossed the Vistula over the partly demolished Jablonka Bridge, and attempted to capture the Warsaw Telephone Exchange at the northern edge of the city. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Good Book,
This review is from: The Polish Officer: A Novel (Paperback)
This is the second book I have read by Mr. Alan Furst. Happily, Random House Publishing is going to backtrack and bring earlier novels by this talented writer to readers. To date, Mr. Furst confines his novels to a relatively brief period of history, from 1933-1945. It is also a period that continues to provide massive amounts of information for historians and writers of historically based fiction. What I particularly liked about this work is that it focused on a Polish Officer, and his work after Poland was attacked and partitioned by Russia and Germany, and then overrun once again by Russia.Poland lost 18% of its population during WWII, a higher percentage than any other nation. The damage Poland suffered, and the resistance movement it fought throughout the war is less well known than other stories, and less documented in historically based fiction. Mr. Furst explains at the end of the book the resources that he uses to bring his characters to life. He tells what are true stories or amalgams of true stories about those that never made a great name for themselves, and garnered the fame that accompanied such notoriety. His characters are often those who fought on after their countries had fallen, living a day-to-day existence that often ended in an unmarked grave, or a cellar with its attendant horrors. The risks they took were compounded by the methods they used to fight and survive. They wore no uniform, they had none of the protection, however scant, that a uniform would bring. If they went missing it was noted, and then only for a moment. My interest in the topic helped to overcome what shortcomings the book does have. The book begins on a fairly definitive note, and then reads as though the reader is occasionally checking in with Alexander de Milja. Just as he is forced to move from Poland to France, Spain, and then Poland again, and other locations, the book jumps as well. The problem is the reader does not always jump with Alexander, often it seems as if we bump into him by chance. The book is filled with character vignettes, some are so fleeting that they are barely made note of before they are gone. The character of Alexander is fairly well explained and detailed, however even his fate is truncated almost in mid sentence. The book reaches no conclusion, and unless there is to be a sequel, it never will. This is not the stronger of the two works I have read, however I will continue to read the books that are to come, for even when the author may not be writing at his best, he is still very, very good.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Unique Perspective on World War II,
By Samuel Zimmerman "Sam" (Englewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Polish Officer: A Novel (Paperback)
"The Polish Officer" offers American readers a new slant on World War II: the perspective of life inside occupied Europe, with no American characters coming to the rescue. Instead, "The Polish Officer" is peopled by displaced persons, former military officers, and bandits, all drawn into a seemingly hopeless resistance to the occupying Nazi and Soviet forces in Poland, Russia, and France. That Furst is able to create a story from this world that is appealing to American readers speaks to his prowess as a writer. This is a beautifully-written book, although a bit weak on plot. However, since the book ends early in the war, it left me wondering how the central character made out.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Diamond Still in the Rough,
By BP (Herndon, VA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Polish Officer: A Novel (Paperback)
Overall, The Polish Officer has more to offer than most in its genre. The atmosphere of the novel is really strong: dark, gritty, forboding. Furst's expert knowledge of the day-to-day affairs of WWII Europe is first-rate, and adds to the realism.Beyond that, there were several problems that I found distracting. The main character, deMilja, always seems remote and detached from the reader. I never got a sense of his personality and found myself struggling to stay interested in him. The book is not a thriller, per se, but there were moments that attempted to be tense. In the execution, however, the tension deflated way too early and I never found myself on the edge of my seat. Alan Furst has enormous potential, and I'm told that his later novels are much better--that he comes into his own as a writer. One can see his potential in the Polish Officer, which would make a great film: that medium might more effectively capture the emotion, depth of character, and tension that is lacking in the novel.
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